US Military Sealift Command operated ships USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) met with the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver while underway in Asia Pacific, on May 15. While it was not stated, the exercise likely took place in the South China Sea as hospital ship USNS Mercy d
Australian government’s $89 billion program to develop new ships and submarines carries a high to extreme level of risk, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) warned in its recent audit. The shipbuilding program for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) encompasses new submarines, major surface comb
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga has seized 295 kilograms of heroin from a vessel in the Arabian Sea. Following the detection of a suspect vessel in the Arabian Sea by Warramunga’s Seahawk Romeo helicopter, a boarding party search uncovered a number of packages containing heroin. After
Maritime engineering consultancy BMT Australia opened a new office in Adelaide, South Australia, in a ceremony on May 14. The ceremony was attended by Australian defense industry minister Christopher Pyne who formally opened the company office. Minister Pyne welcomed the company’s expansion to Adela
Australian shipbuilder Austal will not be taking part in the construction of 12 offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Australian Navy, according to a May 11 statement from Luerssen – the prime contractor on the project. The announcement follows months of negotiations between the two sides. In Novemb
Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock HMAS Adelaide is making final preparations for a three-month deployment which will include participation in RIMPAC, the world’s largest international maritime exercise taking place off Hawaii. Adelaide’s journey across the South Pacific to Hawaii and bac
Pacific Partnership 2018 engagements in Sri Lanka concluded May 9 with mission participants departing Trincomalee aboard Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) for the mission’s fourth port visit in Nha Trang, Vietnam. “We’ve continued to build upon the partnerships we forged du
An international mine countermeasure exercise got underway on Australia’s New South Wales south coast at Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base HMAS Creswell on May 7. The biennial Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) Mine Countermeasures and Diving Exercise (MCM DIVEX) is set to conclude after two week
Deeper collaboration between Australia and France in advanced sonar and naval robotics technology will flow from a research agreement announced in Sydney today during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Flinders University in South Australia,
Australia and Indonesia have concluded in Bali a coordinated patrol aimed at improving security along the shared maritime border. Coordinated maritime patrol AUSINDO CORPAT 2018, the eighth iteration of the exercise, began in Darwin on April 16 following seven days of joint exercises between the two
Navantia Australia has selected another Australian company that would join it in its bid for the Royal Australian Navy’s Future Frigate program. Scientific Management Associates (SMA) has been selected to develop and deliver specialized integrated logistics system (ILS) documentation for Navantia’s
Australian scientists will be using a retired US Navy Seahawk helicopter for the development of fatigue testing technologies, the Australian defense ministry has announced. The technology on which the scientists will work could transform how military helicopters are managed with the potential to red
Navantia Australia announced it has formally opened its Naval Design and Engineering Centre in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct. The opening ceremony took place on April 24, with Victorian defense industry advocate, Greg Combet, Navantia’s global chairman Esteban Vilasanchez and Navantia Australia cha
The humanitarian aid and disaster response exercise Pacific Partnership 2018 arrived in Sri Lanka on April 25. US and partner nation service members participating in the exercise arrived in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, aboard the US Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). The mission in Trincomalee will
